


mountains (molehills)

by Ciasquare



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Bottom Kurusu Akira, Bottom Persona 5 Protagonist, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Miscommunication, Selectively Mute Persona 5 Protagonist, Top Akechi Goro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27283306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciasquare/pseuds/Ciasquare
Summary: "What kind of hobby involved rope, and being tied up, and-Oh…Thatkind of hobby?!"or4 times the Phantom Thieves were concerned about Goro and Akira's relationship and 1 time they knew they had nothing to worry about.Explicit content is only in the 2nd Chapter.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 24
Kudos: 326
Collections: 21 plus server halloween event





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kibetha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kibetha/gifts).



> As always, thanks so much to [Mocochang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mocochang) for brainstorming with me. You're the best, bester, and bestest.
> 
> Thanks also to [bio](https://twitter.com/TrckstrChange?s=20) for letting me rant and coming up with wonderful ideas and suggestions and encouraging me throughout this entire process. ily noromo!! <3
> 
> Finally, thank you [Val](https://twitter.com/MzLadyValkyrie?s=20) for the multiple beta reads!!! Really appreciate it!
> 
> **Formatting Notes**
> 
> _"Italics"_ with quotation marks indicates sign language. Characters may use sign language in the middle of verbal conversation - so long as the italics is contained within quotation marks, that portion is signed. 
> 
> **_"Bold Italics"_** with quotation marks indicates signed emphasis.
> 
> "XXX" indicates verbal language.
> 
> " **Bold** " with quotation marks indicates verbal emphasis.
> 
>  _Italics_ without quotation marks is non-dialogue emphasis.
> 
> I'm hoping that this will come across intuitively, but here for reference if I failed!

**(1) Makoto and Haru**

"Are those… friction burns?"

Akira had been stretching back, fingers interlaced behind his head. At Makoto's words, he brings his hands to his sides as he shrugs casually. Too casually. 

He might fool some, but not her. For more than half a year, she's had to wrangle him into safe-rooms and force-feed him healing items, she knows all of his methods of deflection. As quick as lightning, she seizes one arm in a tight grip, tugging down the sleeve.

Akira's wrist is covered with angry, raised welts, stark against the pale of his skin. Makoto stares at them in horror. 

Haru leans in close, eyeing them consideringly. She touches one with the tip of a perfectly manicured nail and Akira wrenches his hand away, hissing.

"Who did this to you?" she asks, her strawberry sweet voice promising a world of pain.

 _"No, no,"_ Akira signs with hasty reassurance, flashing them a sheepish smile. _"Goro, took me to try,"_ Makoto reads, but then the rest of the sentence is lost as Akira makes a clawing motion and brings his index fingers to his lips alternatingly, signs she doesn't recognize. Next to her, Haru doesn't fare much better, scrunching up her brows in confusion.

 _"B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y"_ Akira fingerspells, pouting at them all the while, _"birthday. You guys know this one."_

"Ah, how could I forget…" Makoto mutters, chewing at her bottom lip in discontent. She has been getting better at sign language - all of them have - but it's still a frustratingly slow process. She can't help but be impatient, especially when she sees Akira and Futaba's perfectly fluent conversations, hands flying like birds. 

Unlike her, Haru hasn't made every instance of forgetting new vocabulary into a personal failing, merely making a little "ah" of understanding before continuing, "It was your birthday a while ago, wasn’t it, Akira? So Goro took you to… celebrate?" She mimes the claws as she says the last word.

Akira laughs, shaking his head. _"Celebrate,"_ he signs, circling his bent index fingers in the air.

"Oh, oops! _Celebrate._ Right. Then what did you just sign?"

Akira lets loose an exasperated sigh. _"It's an action, not a word,"_ he signs, _"I don't know the word for Goro's hobby, but you know… That sport where you do this?"_ He mimes the claws once more.

Makoto frowns. She still doesn't understand and from Haru's expression, neither does she, but it sounds like she's heard all she needs to know. "What did Goro do to you?" she asks sharply.

Haru's face tightens at her question and Akira's eyes widen in alarm. 

_"No, it was my mistake."_ he signs frantically, _"I had rope - R-O-P-E,"_ he spells when she and Haru squint in unison, _"rope, in my hands. I got scared and it was wrapped around my wrists when I pulled hard. That's how I got this."_ He gestures to the burns, then pulls at his bangs in embarrassment. _"It wasn't Goro's fault. Not really."_

Makoto can only blink at him, bewildered and there's an ensuing silence as both she and Haru try to process. Akira's explanation only seemed to raise more questions than answers… What kind of hobby involved rope, and being tied up, and- 

Oh… 

_That_ kind of hobby?!

"Oh my god. Oh my god." She raises her hands to cover her face, then thinks better of it and curls them into fists, shoving them into her lap. Haru must come to the same realization as she does because she throws her head back in laughter, not the least bit dissuaded by Akira's furious scowl.

"Sorry!" she gasps at him, "It's just so funny to imagine you tied up like that!!"

 _"See, this is why I tried to hide it,"_ Akira signs, pursing his lips. He's flushed bright red, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Well…" Makoto coughs, "did you at least enjoy it?" 

_"It was okay, I guess."_ Akira signs, sulking at the floor and not meeting their eyes. _"Goro really hoped I'd like it, so I'll probably keep going for his sake."_

That… did not sound good. 

"Akira," she calls, catching his attention and looking him dead in the eye. "If you don't like it, you should stop," she says, trying for the stern tone she's heard Sae use over the phone. 

"Yes, it's quite a dangerous **hobby** ," Haru chimes in, leftover amusement still lingering in her tone, but she sobers up on the next line. "You should either do it enthusiastically or not at all."

Akira exhales heavily through his nose. _"I don't know… Goro was so excited. I don't want to disappoint him."_

"He should be understanding of your preferences," Haru counters, leaning forward on her elbows.

Makoto nods. "And if he isn't, it's hardly your fault."

"Oh, just let us know if he isn't! We'll talk to him about it, won't we, Makoto?" Haru beams, hands clasped together under her chin in the most unnerving display of violent innocence. Makoto adores her. 

Akira looks between them with increasing distress. _"There's probably no need for that."_ he signs, _"I’ll try it a few more times before I decide. Anyway, it's not all bad."_

"I don't need to know about that!!" Makoto shrieks as Haru begins cackling anew like the witch she secretly is. Makoto shoots her a glare, only getting a saucy wink for her efforts. She sighs, "Let's talk about something else, okay?"

Akira seems perplexed, but he shrugs, agreeably changing the topic.

It was all fun and games then, but looking back, Akira's confusion should probably have been their first clue. Maybe if they had let him open up more… They might have been able to avoid this whole situation.

But the Makoto of then didn't know any better, and so the conversation moved on without a further word on the matter.

* * *

**(2) Yusuke and Ann**

Akira comes to greet them at the door in nothing but a grey singlet and running shorts, and Yusuke thanks God that it is summer.

He says as much. "We are truly blessed by the sun to be graced with this sight."

Akira looks behind him into the empty house, before pointing to himself, eyebrows raised. Ridiculous, really. As if there is anyone else in possession of such exquisite beauty at this instant. He nods in response and Akira blushes, looking away as he massages the back of his neck.

Ann groans loudly from behind him, "God Yusuke, can you be weird further inside? These are heavy, you know?"

"My apologies."

He toes off his shoes and steps in, never taking his eyes off the bare shoulders and the sliver of hip he can see through the side slit of the shorts, trying to memorize the details for his canvas later. He's been told by Ann that it's rude to request that others strip for art - a shared belief amongst many, if you would believe it - so he's forced to rely on his memory to capture this image for later translation onto paper.

He can tell the exact moment that Ann sees it too, because she drops all their groceries to the floor, hands flying to her mouth in a gasp of shock.

"Akira!! What happened to you?!"

Under the thin straps of the singlet, there are mottled green and black bruises running over the curve of both of Akira's shoulders in a clean inch-wide line, stretching from his chest down to his back. There's a similar shade peeking through the low neckline, and Yusuke can only imagine the matching stripe across his chest. Bars of royal purple stripe his inner thighs and disappear at an angle into his shorts, framing his hips.

Faced with all this and Ann's only question is why. What a strange question. Does it matter _why_ the moon and stars are breathtaking in the night and gone in the day? Does it matter _why_ trees majestically reach for the sky, when roses with all their glory are content by the ground? No, it only matters whether Akira would mind if he took a picture of him in this moment for later reference. That's the real question that should be asked since asking him to strip is apparently unacceptable.

Oh, but perhaps she has a point. If Akira refuses him, perhaps he could approach the source of those marks directly…

"I have to admit, Akira, I am curious as well. Would you enlighten us?"

Akira gives him a desperate, helpless gaze, arms spread out by his sides as Ann gets right up into his signing space, fussing over the bruises she can see. Yusuke sighs, reaching out to place a hand on Ann's shoulder.

"I say we do not crowd him while he's trying to speak."

"Oh, sorry!" Ann squeaks, stepping back. 

Akira sighs in obvious relief. He gestures to the bruises before signing, _"Nothing happened, I was just clumsy."_

Ann's eyes narrow in suspicion. "Does this have anything to do with that new hobby of yours?"

Akira wilts at the question, shoulders slumping, _"Makoto and Haru told you? That's so embarrassing… Yes, it was the hobby. The H-A-R-N-E-S-S was too tight."_

Yusuke frowns. A harness? Did he read that right? He repeats the fingerspelling discreetly by his thigh, mouthing the letters as he does. H-A-R-N-E-S-S. No, he was unmistakably correct, but what kind of pastime…

Ann doesn't share in his confusion, only curls her lip in disapproval. "You boys should really be more careful. You could cut off blood circulation! How come Goro didn't notice it was biting into you?"

 _"I put it on myself."_ Akira signs, looking mortified, _"I shouldn't have tightened it so much, but I liked the security of it."_

Ann groans, pressing her face into her hands. "Oh god, okay TMI. Just be more careful next time? Do some reading, okay?"

Akira seems more than happy to let it go, but Yusuke couldn't just let the conversation die like that. Why, he didn't even find out what Akira's new hobby was! His curiosity now genuinely piqued, he prods further, "Makoto and Haru did not inform me you had picked up this interesting hobby, do share what it is."

Akira raises his hands to reply, but Ann interrupts him, waving him off, "Oh, Yusuke, I'll tell you later. Come help me with the groceries, I want to get the hotpot going before Ryuji gets here."

Yusuke considers this. The hotpot was indeed important. But what about his art? He opens his mouth to protest, but Ann arches an eyebrow at him.

"Or maybe you would like Ryuji to have all the beef?"

"I will help you," he concedes, quickly reorganizing his priorities.

At the very least he had extracted the promise of future information for his art. Now, his stomach was at stake.

* * *

**(3) Sumire and Ryuji**

Akira comes to a stop midway through their third lap and Sumire halts immediately next to him. Akira had been slower than usual this morning and she had matched his pace to keep an eye on him, just in case. Seems there was cause for concern after all.

Ahead of them, Ryuji slows to a pause as well, turning to face them with an expectant expression.

Akira pants and shakes his head in response. _"I'm done,"_ he signs, shaking his hands out with finality, _"you guys can keep going."_

"Aww man, come on! You got this!" Ryuji encourages him as he doubles back, jogging up to them. 

Sumire bites her lip. "I don't think motivation is the issue, Ryuji-senpai," she says to him before turning to Akira, "Akira-senpai, are you alright? What's wrong?"

 _"Nothing, I'm just sore all over."_ Akira signs, grimacing as he gestures to his shoulders, legs, and back, _"Goro pushed me too hard last weekend."_

Ryuji frowns. "Dude, is this that hobby thing?"

Oh, Ann had mentioned this to her. "I had heard about that," Sumire says in a dry tone. She doesn't think of herself as a judgmental person - anyway it wasn't like she had much ground to stand on after all Akira and Goro had done for her last year, but… "To be honest, I didn't think of Goro-senpai as someone who would enjoy that."

Akira sits himself down on the ground with a huff, wincing and rubbing at his back. _"Why not?"_ he signs with his free hand, too distracted to make the accompanying expressions.

Ryuji's brows furrow. "Yeah, why not? Don't you remember him in Maruki's palace? I'd totally peg him for that sort of thing."

"You should know better than to judge Goro-senpai based on what he did during the third semester," Sumire says. She can't help but be defensive of Goro, although Goro would probably want her to stop it. "You know how much pain he was in… Not knowing if he was dead or alive…" She shudders, "It must have been so terrible."

Akira tilts his head up to squint at them, throwing his hand over his eyes to block out the sun. "Huh?" he says, in his low, hoarse voice, startling her a little. _"He said so himself, don't you guys remember?"_ he signs, eyes almost closed as he drops his hand to form the sentence. 

"Hah!" Ryuji crows, then scratches the back of his head, looking off to the side as he thinks, "But I don't remember him telling us somethin' like this…"

Sumire tries to think as well, biting into the pad of her thumb as she does. "I don't recall this either, Akira-senpai. Are you sure we were there?"

 _"Ryuji was there,"_ he signs, _"I'm not sure about you though."_

"Well, Goro-senpai strikes me as a really loving kind of person, even if he can be prickly. I'm sure he does it lovingly, right, Akira-senpai?"

Akira looks puzzled, but he nods and Sumire raises her chin triumphantly at Ryuji, who only shrugs.

"Well whatever, you like what you like, alright?"

 _"Yeah, but,"_ Akira gestures to himself before raising a finger with his right hand to represent himself, then slams it somewhat violently into the palm of his left, making her jump. _"I don't like that so much,"_ he finishes at the dumbstruck expressions of both herself and Ryuji.

"Getting slammed into a wall?!" Ryuji exclaims.

"Getting slapped?" Sumire ventures.

Akira points at Ryuji and gives him a thumbs up.

"Wait, I was right??"

"Why did you get slammed into a wall, Akira-senpai?"

_"Goro's been having a hard time at work, so we went for a round together to help him de-stress. He pushed me too hard though… I should have told him I wasn't ready."_

"Oh my god, senpai!"

_"It's just a part of it though… It happens to everyone."_

"If you don't like it you should say something, dude!"

"Yes, senpai! There are so many other ways to release stress. Didn't Goro-senpai say he liked bouldering?"

Akira frowns at her like she's grown a second head, _"So you do remember."_

"Remember what?" Ryuji asks, but then he shakes his head dismissively, "Anyway, you go on home today. Tell Goro to take it easy on you, geez…"

Sumire nods along, "Yes, go get some rest… And an icepack maybe."

Akira hefts himself up to his feet, dusting off the back of his pants. _"Thanks, guys. See you next week."_

He jogs off a little stiffly and Sumire exchanges concerned glances with Ryuji. Akira had a tendency to overexert himself for the sake of others - she could only hope that was all that was happening here.

* * *

**(4) Morgana**

"It's been a while since I've slept with you like this, hasn't it, Akira?"

Akira snickers from where he's lying on his stomach in bed, turning his head to look at Morgana as he pads over and settles by the foot of the bed.

Morgana rolls his eyes. "You know that's not what I mean," he says to Akira's non-committal hum. "Have you missed me?"

Akira considers Morgana's question theatrically, making a show of looking up at the ceiling in deep thought before extending his hand to Morgana's face, his thumb and index finger just a bare inch apart.

"Only that much?!" Morgana exclaims in dismay as Akira laughs. Morgana bats the fingers away, claws slightly extended and Akira moves his hand to give him a head rub, scratching behind his ears.

"I did," he says in his deep, scratchy voice and Morgana purrs in response.

"I knew you would! Goro should go out of town more often so we can spend time together like this."

Akira scrunches up his nose. "No."

"I'm way better than Goro!! Give me one reason why not."

Akira smirks at him, "Back massage."

Morgana gives him an injured sniff. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing," he says, but he jumps up onto the bed anyway and Akira buries his face into the pillow again.

Well, if Akira wanted a back massage, he would get a back massage. He stealthily climbed up onto the windowsill as Akira remained still and unsuspecting.

"Geronimo!" he yells, leaping down onto Akira's back.

Akira makes a pained yelp when Morgana lands, bucking Morgana off with a sharp twist. Morgana falls to the floor with a startled cry.

"Hey, what the heck was that!" he says, facing Akira with an affronted scowl, tail lashing in discontent. It freezes when he sees the way Akira is curled up on his side, face scrunched up in pain. 

Akira cracks his eyes open, face still contorted into a grimace. _"Sorry,"_ he signs, _"I fell the other day. Back still hurts."_

"You fell? How bad was it? Let me see." 

Morgana hops up on to the bed as Akira obediently sits up, hiking up his shirt to bare his back. Splotches of purple cover one side of his back, extending from his shoulder blade to just past his ribs. Morgana presses his paw to one of the bruises and Akira hisses, "These are pretty bad. How high did you fall from to get these?"

Akira drops the shirt, twisting around so he can reply. _"About 3 to 4 feet?"_

"That high? What were you doing?" Morgana asks in disbelief, but he places a paw on Akira's hand, interrupting his reply, "Wait, is this part of that hobby that Ann told me you picked up with Goro? Futaba showed me some really weird stuff, people were hanging from the ceiling."

Akira squints at him but nods hesitantly. _"You know about it. I told you about it."_

"You most certainly did not!!" Morgana exclaims, "Makoto and Haru found out before me!"

Akira flushes. _"That was different, that was because it was embarrassing!"_

"I wouldn't judge you!" Morgana yowls, but Akira's no longer looking at him, eyes to the floor and pulling on his bangs, a nervous habit he's never managed to break. Morgana sidles up to him, butting his head against Akira's thigh until one of his hands come up to pet him in smooth strokes from his neck to his tail.

"Sure, it's a bit weird," Morgana says, once Akira seems more composed, "but I think it's pretty cool! It's passionate. It makes sense for people like you and Goro."

Akira smiles at him lopsidedly, lifting his hands to speak, _"You think so?"_

"Yup! And it's fun right, being high up and out of control?"

 _"Actually that's the worst part,"_ Akira bites his lip, _"The one with the H-A-R-N-E-S-S wasn't so bad because I still felt like I had some safety, but I hated the one Goro made me try the other day."_

Morgana blinks, sitting up at this. "Did you tell him that?"

 _"I did!"_ Akira says, his gestures forceful with his frustration, _"I told him I really didn't want to and I didn't think I would enjoy it, but he likes it so much and he told me to just give it a shot. I hated every minute and I even fell! But afterward, he looked at me, and he was all sweaty and rosy and beaming, and he asked me how it was, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I didn't like it."_

"Then what did you say?!"

Akira made a wry face. _"I said it was okay… I may have agreed to try it again?"_

"Akira, no!!" Morgana yelled, getting up on his hind legs to place his paws on Akira's shoulder, extending his claws, "Why did you do that? And Goro is too much as well!! He should have respected you when you said no!"

 _"You didn't see how happy he was!!"_ Akira shrugs him off and Morgana falls to the bed with a thump, _"I can learn to like it. It's kind of fun, it's just a little scary. I'm a beginner after all."_

Morgana narrows his eyes, "I'm going to tell the rest of the Phantom Thieves."

"No!" Akira exclaims, his hands stuttering before he forms the words, _"You can't! They are already acting really weird about it. I think they think I'm being abused or something."_

"But you are - kind of!" Morgana insists, puffing out his back fur and tail. 

Akira gives him an incredulous look, but then he sighs deeply, shoulders slumping in resignation. _"If I promise to talk to Goro about this, will you promise not to talk to the PT about it?"_

Morgana glares but then settles into a sitting position, his tail sweeping in a wide arc to curl around his paws, the tip still twitching with irritation. "Fine," he reluctantly agrees, to Akira's obvious relief, "but you better talk to him."

_"I will, Mona."_

"See that you do, Joker."

The conversation turns to other things as they settle down for the night, and Akira falls asleep believing the matter to be left behind and forgotten.

But once his breathing grows deep and even, he misses the way Morgana's eyes crack open, glinting with sleepy determination in the moonlight.

"Sorry Joker," he says, voice barely a whisper, before he too gives in to sleep.

* * *

**(+ 1) Goro and The Phantom Thieves**

When Goro and Akira reach LeBlanc, the rest of the Phantom Thieves are already present, 8 heads turning in their direction as they walk in.

The atmosphere is tense, which is not inherently unusual when Goro is present, but Sojiro is conspicuously absent and although it is only midday, the sign has been flipped to "Closed." Makoto and Haru occupy one side of the booth, Futaba fenced in between them, lip bitten white-red between her teeth, staring at the table in an effort to avoid any eye-contact. Ryuji and Ann are kneeling in the booth seat next to their table, leaning over the backs with Morgana perched by their elbows. Yusuke lounges nonchalantly on a bar stool with a sketchpad in his hands. Sumire is next to him on her own stool, practically vibrating in place and wringing her hands in her lap.

Makoto stands up, stretching out a hand to the empty booth seat opposite them. "Please sit, both of you," Makoto says, in mimicry of Sae's professionalism. 

Goro raises his eyebrows at Akira, but he only shrugs in response, reaching to tug at his hair self-consciously. They comply nonetheless, Goro making way for Akira to enter the booth first before squeezing in next to him. Makoto watches them with her arms crossed, eyes narrowing when Goro places a hand on Akira's lap.

There's a beat of awkward silence. Goro clears his throat to dispel it. "Is there a purpose to gathering all of us today?"

Makoto exhales heavily, sitting down and crossing her legs. "This is an intervention," she says and Akira immediately jerks his head towards Morgana.

_"Morgana, you didn't! You promised!"_

"I didn't promise anything!" Morgana retorts, but he looks guilty, ears flat against his skull, "You said 'if' so you didn't promise either, don't think I didn't catch that."

Goro fists his hand in the denim of Akira's jeans, ignoring the way Akira looks at him with wide, panicked eyes. He presents the Phantom Thieves with a placid smile. "Could someone please fill me in, since it appears I am the only one who has no idea what is going on?"

Haru smiles back with an edge outlined with pastel pink lipstick. "We just have some concerns about a new hobby that Akira has mentioned to us."

Goro glances at Akira, frowning deepening in confusion, but Akira's no longer looking his way. He's appealing to Futaba instead, hands flashing through signs so fast that Goro can only catch meaningless snatches of conversation.

He turns back to Haru. "I'm sorry?"

Ann replies him instead. "Look, Goro, I don't think you've been doing any of this intentionally. But like, you know your 'recreational activities'," she says, making little air quotes with her fingers, "Akira's been mentioning how he doesn't really like them."

Makoto clears her throat. "We have tried to convince him to approach you without our intervention and he has been resistant to the idea. We thought it would be best to have this conversation with both of you."

"Akira said that he was forcing himself because you enjoyed it… You can understand our concern, can't you?" Morgana pipes up in a high-pitched meow.

Akira's signing takes on a harried note, fingers stuttering over shapes, movements jerky and hurried. Futaba frowns at him, replying with slower-paced questions that Goro can't understand out of context. He returns his attention to the remainder of the Phantom Thieves who, with the exception of Yusuke, are all staring at him expectantly.

"I'm afraid I still don't understand what is going on," he says, careful and slow with every word.

Ann sighs heavily, "You know… That **hobby** you do with Akira?"

"I do not know. Akira and I have many hobbies."

"Ah, Goro-senpai," Sumire stammers, blushing bright red. Goro raises an eyebrow at her. "We are talking about…"

"For cryin' out loud!" Ryuji interrupts, exasperation clear in his tone. "We are talking about the BDSM sex you and Akira have been having!"

At the same moment, Futaba jumps up, slamming her hands on the table and startling every person present.

"YOU MEAN TO SAY," she all but screams, "THAT ALL THIS HAS BEEN ABOUT ROCK CLIMBING?"

There's a pregnant silence. Goro stares at Ryuji. Ryuji stares at Futaba. Futaba stares at Akira. Akira has his face in his hands. The tips of his ears are bright red. 

Yusuke looks up from his sketchbook, surveying the scene before him with cool detachment. "Ah so, that was the hobby."

The room erupts into cacophony.

"Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?!"

 _"I did!! Remember?"_ Akira makes a clawing motion with his hands.

"Is that what that meant? That doesn't look anything like rock climbing!"

_"How does it look anything like B-D-S-M? Or sex?!"_

"Why would you be embarrassed about rock climbing?!"

_"That first day, I fell and I was hanging from the ceiling! They had to send someone up to get me down!"_

"So the harness?"

_"A rock climbing H-A-R-N-E-S-S!"_

"And the being slammed into a wall?"

_"I slipped and I swung into the wall when I fell!"_

"What about the bruises on your back? What new thing did Goro make you try?"

_"There are 2 kinds of rock climbing, lead climbing and bouldering. Goro made me try bouldering."_

Everyone starts talking over each other, asking more and more questions, clearing up the misunderstanding. None of it makes any sense to him, places and situations he wasn't in, but throughout it all, one thing can be gleaned: They thought he was raping Akira.

There's a roaring in Goro's ears that's building and building, drowning out the bluster around him.

He stands. Silence falls.

"I'm sorry," he hears himself say. "I just remembered, I'm late for a meeting."

He registers Akira grabbing for his hand, but he twists out of his grip and exits LeBlanc, doorbell jangling loudly in his wake.

* * *

**(+ 2) Akira and Goro**

Goro is home when Akira walks into their shared apartment. Akira knows he's home because his shoes are in the rack and sounds are coming from the bedroom, even though not a single light in the house is on. Akira opens his mouth to call for him, but his body rebels, throat locking up, heart pounding a staccato beat in his chest.

He tries to take deep breaths, curling his hands into fists and focusing on the little spots of pain where his nails dig into his palms. It's just Goro, it's just a misunderstanding. He walks to their bedroom, sliding the door open.

Goro is at the desk, papers spread out in front of him, working in the scraps of sun that managed to squeeze through the gaps of the neighboring high-rises. He doesn't make a move at the sound of the sliding door and Akira still doesn't trust his voice, so he reaches for the light switch and flicks it on and off a couple times before leaving it off.

The scratching of pen against paper pauses for a second before Goro sets it down with a decisive clack, swiveling around in the chair to face Akira. The low light catches on the plastic smile on his face, pleasant, close-lipped, no teeth.

"You're home earlier than I expected," he says, in his interview voice.

Akira doesn't need to try to speak to know that words will not cooperate at this moment. He raises his hands and doesn't miss the way Goro's smile wavers. _"I wanted to talk to you."_ he signs, willing his fingers not to tremble.

"I just forgot I had a meeting. You didn't need to cut your time short," Goro continues as if he hadn't said anything at all, as if everything's just fine. Akira doesn't want to talk about it either. He wants to play pretend, join Goro in this make-believe, but Akira has never been good at pretending and everything is _not_ fine

_"I know you didn't have a meeting."_

"It was really irresponsible of me to forget." 

Goro has his mask, script, props, scene, putting on a play. Akira enters center stage, walking further into the bedroom, stepping into the faded sunlight spotlight, trying to find the right lines.

_"Can we talk, please?"_

"Please let everyone know I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly."

No, he's not part of this show at all. He's a single, recalcitrant audience member in the aisles of the theater, playing charades. 

_"Everyone apologized. They all feel really bad about it."_

"Ah, the rock climbing?" Goro waves a hand dismissively, but it's his first actual reply to anything Akira's said so far. Is he at least a supporting character now? Is the end of this performance in sight? "It was just a misunderstanding. Laughable in hindsight, even! Why, confusing rock climbing and rap-"

Akira puts a hand on Goro's shoulder. The clapperboard clicks shut mid-speech. Goro's lips purse into a single, tight line. Cut. End scene.

"I don't want to talk about it, Akira." 

Everything washes out in a glaze of fog, panic folding away neatly next to where he keeps his voice. 

He feels his head nod. His hand leaves Goro's shoulder, his feet take him out of the bedroom, into the kitchen where the dishes from lunch are soaking in the sink. He watches one hand pick up a plate as the other soaps up the sponge. 

Leave it alone. He should leave it alone. Goro is an adult, a full 2 years older even, practically raised himself, worked all alone against a criminal mastermind at the age of 15. He should know what's best for himself. Akira was overstepping. He should have known better. None of this would have even happened if Akira could just open his mouth and form words with his useless tongue-

Someone is calling his name.

"Akira."

The sound of running water pauses. Someone's turned off the tap.

"Oh… Akira..."

Warm hands - so warm. They take the dish and the sponge from him. They envelop his own. When did his hands get so cold?

"Akira, you've been washing the same dish for an hour."

Has he?

"Here, look at me."

The hands move him, maneuvering him till he's face to face with Goro. Those furnace palms burn on his shoulders. 

"Do you remember the bouldering grade that you tried the other day?" Goro asks, slow as taffy.

Akira's hands don't feel like his own, but he manages to nod in response.

"5-kyu," Goro says, mirroring his nod. His eyes are cinnamon concern, lips cherry bitten worry. He licks them with the tip of his tongue. "Japan uses the Dankyu system, but there are at least 3 other grading systems used around the world. There is the Hueco scale in North America and the Fontainebleau grades in Europe."

Akira takes a deep breath. Then two. Then three. He follows the conversation, making a circle with his fingers and drawing it across his forehead. _"I didn't know."_

The corners of Goro's eyes are creased with the strength of his frown - little crow's feet that he applies eye cream on every night - but they ease up in relief at Akira's response. 

"Yeah," he breathes, "the Hueco scale uses V0, V1, and so on to indicate difficulty. The V comes from the founder's name, John 'Vermin' Sherman. The Fontainebleau grades are color-coded. Our Dankyu system-" 

Goro cuts off, visibly swallowing, and Akira's eyes widen in alarm. He shrugs off Goro's hands from his shoulders, interlacing their fingers and squeezing.

"Akira, you don't have- You never have to-" Goro takes a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. When he opens them, his jaw is tight, braced for the worst, even though his mouth twists into something that resembles a smile. "If this hurts you. You can end it."

For the first time that day, the words come easily.

"You don't hurt me," he says, surging forward to press a kiss to Goro's lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"Italics"_ with quotation marks indicates sign language.
> 
> "XXX" indicates verbal language.
> 
> _Italics_ without quotation marks is non-dialogue emphasis.
> 
> I'm hoping that this will come across intuitively, but here for reference if I failed!

When they kiss, Goro is usually the one to take the reins, pushing the agenda along, but when Akira parts his lips, Goro is uncharacteristically hesitant, breath hitching in his mouth in a wet hiccough. Akira takes over and Goro cedes control, letting him lick into his mouth, tasting sparks and salt on his tongue.

Goro's hands find their way to his waist, but Akira is the one to pull them close, fingers curling in the base of Goro's long hair, one arm winding around his neck. He blindly walks them backward, habit guiding his feet until they pass the sliding doors to their bedroom.

Goro pulls back when the backs of his knees brush the edge of their bed, breaking them apart. He licks his lips, already kiss-swollen, ruby red.

"Akira, are you sur-"

"Yes, always." 

Goro bites his lip, but when Akira places both his hands on Goro's chest, pushing him onto the bed, he goes down without further argument. Akira crawls over him on his knees, straddling his hips, bracing himself with hands by Goro's head. Goro stares up at him with wide, red-rimmed eyes, hands clenched into fists around their duvet, holding on to hold himself back. Akira leans in again to capture his lips in another kiss, pressing them oh-so-close as he slides a hand up his shirt, relishing in Goro's shudder beneath him at the chill of his palms, pushing the shirt higher and higher, till it's bunched up by his collarbones.

He would enjoy the sight of Goro laid out like this, debauched, but Goro would scowl, so he chooses instead to kiss the corner of Goro's mouth, then on the blade of his jaw, on the side of his neck, nipping the sensitive skin just to feel Goro buck under him, tugging down the collar of the round to press another to the hollow between his collarbones.

"Akira…" Goro groans and Akira can't resist taking a peek at him, observing the way his eyes are squeezed shut, coffee lashes against almond skin.

He leans in again, this time zeroing in on Goro's bared chest, licking teasingly around one nipple before latching on to the other. He closes his lips over it, sucking with just a hint of teeth, letting his fingers trace over the one he'd just left behind, spreading saliva over the bud. Goro groans again, wordless and Akira grinds down, rolling his hips, making Goro lose his voice to a breathless gasp, fingers leaving the sheets to seek purchase in the fabric of Akira's trousers. 

He sits back then and Goro's eyelids flutter open at the pause in sensation, dilated pupils watching Akira from lazy half-lids as he removes his shirt, tugging the collar over his head from the back, in the way he knows curls his stomach and shows off his abs. There's a long, steady exhale from Goro, but when Akira tosses the balled-up shirt away, Goro's still only looking at him, with a tense hesitation in his eyes that he doesn't like.

Some of the tension leaves, replaced by unmasked curiosity as Akira presses his palms to the curve of Goro's underarms, using his knees as leverage to shift Goro further up into the middle of the bed. 

"Akira?" Goro questions, but compliantly goes along with Akira's wordless directions.

Akira ignores him in favor of mouthing hot and breath-wet around the tip of Goro's clothed erection, getting the thin cotton damp, feeling immensely gratified when Goro throws his head back, lips parted on a surprised moan.

He slips his chilled fingers under the waistband of Goro's pants, humming in apology at the hiss leaving Goro's gritted teeth as goosebumps rise in the wake of his fingertips. 

Goro raises his hips for Akira to pull down his pants and boxers, but Akira's too impatient to tug them all the way off, leaving them slung by his knees. Goro's breath hitches when he bends down to nose at his balls, kissing along the vee of his inner thigh, breathing in the way Goro smells like citrus soap and _Goro_. He licks a wet stripe up Goro's cock before wrapping his lips around the head and sucking, reveling in Goro's choked-off moan.

Tentative hands card through his hair, curling to a grip at the base of his curls, gently drawing him off Goro's cock and up, up, up, till once again, they are face to face. Between one second and the next, Goro tugs him close and rolls them over, a hazy, golden glow surrounding them as the evening sun peeks through their one window, colored by the strands of Goro's hair falling around their faces.

Goro kisses his forehead and Akira can feel his chapped lips move as he whispers, "Do you want this?"

"Always yes, Goro, please."

Akira feels them Goro's broad, callused palms frame his hips, pulling down his trousers. He's already hard and wet, leaking against his underwear, and he moans when Goro wraps a hand around his cock, thumb spreading pre-cum in wet tight circles around the head.

Goro kicks off his own pants, throwing both of their clothes off the bed. At the slide of Goro's palm along the backs of his thigh, Akira pulls his knees up to his chest, feeling his cheeks heat up at Goro's throaty groan. Goro's hand leaves his cock, fumbles with their side drawer for the lube, his other hand still rubbing long, soothing strokes along the back of his thigh.

"You look so good," he says in a low voice, bending to press a kiss to his knee and Akira can't help the way he mewls, only growing louder when Goro presses lube-slick fingers to his rim, tracing wet circles along his entrance with barely-there pressure. Akira whines plaintively and Goro chuckles with amusement, slipping in just the tip of a single finger.

"Goro, Goro please…" Akira begs, tossing his head. 

Goro obliges him, slowly pressing his finger further and further in till his knuckles are flush against the curve of his ass. He groans, clenching around it and Goro makes a breathy moan in response, gently fucking him with that one finger.

"Can you take another?" Goro asks softly, in direct contrast with the way he grinds his knuckles against his hole on the next thrust of his fingers.

"Yes, yes! Please!"

Goro pushes in another finger and scissors them, spreading him wide. 

"Goro!"

"I'm here." Goro leans over him, pressing kisses to his eyelids, to his cheeks. He presses his fingers inwards and crooks them and Akira sobs, closing his eyes to a flurry of fireworks dancing across the backs of his eyelids.

"Please Goro, please fuck me!"

Goro kisses him, swallowing all of his words, all of his piteous whines as he pulls his fingers out of him. He pulls away, staring at Akira with a soft, burning hunger in his wine-red eyes as he slicks himself up with the leftover lube on his hand. Akira gasps when Goro presses the head of his cock to his hole, the heat of Goro against the most sensitive parts of him taking up all his focus, but then Goro presses in, so slowly, so so slowly, and Akira can only cry out in a broken moan at the sensation as he stretches around him, hot, heavy and full.

He wraps his legs around Goro's waist, reaching up with both hands like a greedy child and Goro comes to him, curling over him, burying his head into the crook of Akira's neck. Akira can feel his heartbeat - or maybe it's his own, thudding furiously where their chests are pressed flush against each other. Goro lifts his head up, eyes meeting Akira's and-

Oh.

If the Phantom Thieves could see this - the way Goro's eyes shine with all the love and adoration that he finds too hard to voice - surely they would never doubt Goro again.

But no, Akira thinks - guiltily, selfishly - as long as Goro still allowed him to call his heart his own, this belonged to him alone.

"Goro," he gasps, curling his fingers into Goro's hair as Goro begins to move, thrusting into him in a lazy, languid pace, "Goro, I love you, I love you so much."

Goro shudders above him, dropping his head once more with a little, broken moan. His arms curl around Akira, holding him tight, his hips speeding up, every thrust meeting that space within him that makes him see stars.

"Goro!" Akira wails, "Goro, I'm going to- I'm going to-"

"Come for me, Akira," Goro growls, punctuating his words with a thrust of his hips, and just like that-

Akira's world whites out for a moment, eyes falling closed as the blue-white pleasure rushes through him. 

Goro doesn't slow down, fucking him throughout and after, every thrust making him twitch with the aftershocks, sending jolts of oversensitivity tingling down his spine until at last Goro stills, his own pleasure overtaking him.

He slumps into Akira, the tension and the rush fading from his body. Akira smiles, hand coming up to stroke over Goro's head, still pressed into his shoulder. Goro's arms tighten around him.

"Akira," he whispers, so soft, so fragile. "Akira, I- I lov-"

"I know," Akira whispers back, combing his fingers through Goro's hair, but Goro suddenly sits up, eyes flashing and Akira hisses as Goro brushes against his oversensitive cock, at the tug on his ass.

"Goro, what-"

Goro raises an open hand, pulling down his middle finger and ring finger to the center of his palm, and presses the handshape into Akira's chest, right over his heart.

_"I love you."_

Tears prickle against the back of his eyes and he brings his own hands up over Goro's, squeezing his words in his grip.

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the porn I promised! 
> 
> Please let me know if you liked it in the comments or at my [tumblr](https://ciasquare.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ciasquare)!!

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of the 21+ akeshuake server Halloween 2020 event! I got the lovely [Kibetha](https://twitter.com/Kibetha?s=20)'s prompts and I chose her trick prompt:  
>  _Akira gets hurt/actually injured several times during very kinky sex with Goro, and makes up terrible excuses when questioned. The Phantom Thieves get the wrong idea entirely._
> 
> I had initially planned a spot of porn for this, but I couldn't write it in time for Halloween... I may not ever get around to it, but that's why this fic is marked incomplete for now. Just so you know!
> 
> Please let me know how much you liked my twist on the prompt in the comments or at my [tumblr](https://ciasquare.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ciasquare)!!
> 
>  **Sign Language Stuff** (feel free to skip)
> 
> I have some very slight command over the sign language of my country and I have tried my best to be respectful and realistic based on my experiences with Deaf folks (Deaf with a capital D refers to Deaf culture and people who participate in it, deaf with a small d refers to people who are deaf). Please let me know if you have any constructive criticism for how I can improve on writing sign language, or if you feel like anything was disrespectful!!! I want to learn and be better!!!
> 
> The signs described in this fic should look like American Sign Language (ASL) as my country's sign language has roots in ASL. I initially tried to use Japanese Sign Language (JSL), but I couldn't find many English to JSL resources… Please forgive me.
> 
> Sign language has its own grammar and structure, but I have not utilised the grammar in the fic because sentences in sign language grammar sound like "bad/broken English" when translated literally and can have the effect of a character sounding less educated.
> 
> I want to share about some of my experiences which I mentioned in the fic.
> 
> (1) Makoto & Haru  
> It is still really hard for me to accept the mistakes that I make in signing. I feel incredibly stupid, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it is a new language like any other. I often forget vocabulary, even simple signs I have seen a few times. My Deaf friends fingerspell a lot around me. The conversation I have described here is a pretty accurate reflection of how our conversations are usually like, except of course, I am signing (poorly) in reply.
> 
> Visual gestural communication (VGC) is a big part of sign language in certain countries (like mine!), where communication is made through gestures and not actual words. So what Akira does to indicate "rock climbing" is acceptable, at least in my country's sign language. By the way, the action described is in fact the sign for rock climbing in ASL.
> 
> (2) Yusuke & Ann  
> I have decent command over fingerspelling, but fluent Deaf folks fingerspell very quickly!! I have to take a lot of time to put the letters together in my head, even spelling them out myself a few times just to confirm.
> 
> Signing space is the space around your body which you use to sign. You can imagine it as a triangle or a box which starts around the head and ends around your elbows. You usually sign in this space. For example, if you were saying "the aeroplane landed," you wouldn't raise the sign for aeroplane any higher than your head. There are exceptions, such as signs that are fixed at locations on your body which are outside of the signing space. For instance "stomach pain" would be the sign for "pain" expressed by the stomach.
> 
> (3) Sumire & Ryuji  
> What Akira uses in this part is a part of sign language called "classifiers". These are certain handshapes which are used to represent nouns and verbs. It's like miming, but with rules. For example, here Akira raises a single index finger to represent himself / one person and an upright flat palm to represent a wall, but you cannot use the same raised finger to represent other moving objects like a car, or even multiple people. You would have to use a different classifier handshape.
> 
> (+2) Akira and Goro  
> Flicking lights on and off is a common way that deaf folks use to get the attention of someone. My sign language teacher once got her friend's attention through a glass window by using her phone's torchlight and flashing it rapidly.


End file.
